iOS 13 preview: Should you update your iPhone?

It’s the autumn, so it must be time to update your iPhone’s operating system. Back in June, Apple announced iOS 13, which brings dark mode (at long last!), swipe typing, major updates to Reminders, Maps, Photos and more, and a new privacy-friendly app sign-in option – and iOS 13 will finally become available to download later today.

There’s lots to discuss, but how worthwhile is this year’s update, and is it right for you? In our iOS 13 preview we walk you through the design changes, performance tweaks and new features, and help you decide whether to make the update. If you’d like a direct comparison with the current OS, see iOS 13 vs iOS 12.

Note that, at time of writing, iOS 13 has not yet officially launched. The following preview is based on hands-on time with various betas as well as on Apple’s demo. We’ll update again and give our verdict and star rating once we’ve used the official public release of iOS 13.0.

Release date & availability

iOS 13 was announced on 3 June 2019 and immediately made available as a developers-only beta; a public beta then followed on 24 June. (Here’s how to install an iOS beta.) The final, complete version of iOS 13.0 will be rolled out to the public later today (19 September 2019).

The time of the download becoming available will depend on which time zone you live in. Here are our estimates, based on previous years:

• UK: 6pm, Thursday
• San Francisco: 10am, Thursday
• New York: 1pm, Thursday
• Sydney: 3am, Friday
• Beijing 1am, Friday
• New Delhi 10.30pm, Thursday

Here is how to install iOS 13 once it drops.

Which iPads & iPhones are compatible?

iOS 13 works with the iPhone 6s or later, including the iPhone SE – good news, since rumours before the event had suggested that both the 6s and the SE were in danger of missing out. It also works with the 7th-gen iPod touch. But it doesn’t work with any iPads at all, since they are going to get their own dedicated iPadOS platform.

If you’re wondering if your iPhone can run iOS 13, check our full list of compatible devices:

• iPhone 11 Pro Max (preinstalled)
• iPhone 11 Pro (preinstalled)
• iPhone 11 (preinstalled)
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 6s
• iPhone SE
• iPod touch (7th generation)

Design & interface

Not a huge amount has changed in terms of overall design language – this certainly isn’t a repeat of the earth-shaking iOS 7 update that caused so much consternation.

Look more closely, however, and you’ll find a number of changes to the interface.

Dark mode

Most obviously there is now a system-wide dark mode which affects preinstalled apps (we’ve seen it in Calendar, Home, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos and Reminders) and general OS furniture.

It will also affect third-party apps, but only if the developers choose to implement it – virtually everyone will, but in a few cases there might be a delay before it gets rolled out. The only third-party dark mode we’ve seen so far is on Slack, where it looks nice but remained a little buggy in a late beta version.

We’ve been waiting ages for iOS to get a dark mode, which Android has offered for years. Better late than never, though: and if you look beyond the fun novelty of a new black-dominated interface look, the feature should also make iOS more pleasant to use late at night, and less of a strain on the eyes.

We’ve already had some experience here, since Google Maps for iOS has had a dark mode (which automatically activates at night) for some time. And it’s great – instead of looking down and being dazzled by a white interface, then looking back up and having to readjust to the darkened road, the eyes are more easily able to adapt. It will be great to have this system-wide since even when apps are used indoors it’s more restful to have a darker interface.

As for how dark mode is triggered, there are multiple methods. You can open Settings > Display & Brightness and tap Dark at the top of the screen to enable it manually. Or you can tap the Automatic toggle below: once this is engaged you’ll be given various scheduling options, such as Dark Until Sunrise.

App redesigns

Dark mode affects the entire OS, but Apple also announced redesigns to the interfaces of certain individual apps. Reminders, for example, gets smart lists, a better layout and organisation options, plus people tagging which syncs with Messages for collaboration. This is good news because Reminders’ previous interface could be a little confusing.

We also like the look of Notes’ new Gallery view, and the extensive new customisation options for Memoji. Apple has added piercings and makeup, and more hats and hairstyles.

Performance

As was the case with iOS 12 last year, Apple says updating an iPhone to iOS 13 can significantly improve its speed. It will vary depending on which handset you’re using, but here are the claimed figures:

• 30% faster Face ID unlock
• 50% smaller app download sizes
• 60% smaller app update sizes
• 2x faster app launches

Our experiences with a late beta – in fact the GM, which should be identical to the finished version – are less clear-cut than this implies. Face ID is manifestly quicker (a welcome enhancement), but we haven’t noticed apps launching in less time than before. Then again we’ve been running iOS 13 on an iPhone XR and an iPhone X, which are both still pretty quick anyway, and it seems likely that speed gains will be more apparent on older hardware.

In the past, iOS updates have been nerve-wracking for owners of older handsets; sometimes the flashy new features place additional strain on the processor and result in a loss of speed. But, happily, Apple appears to be moving toward a point where the expectation goes the other way.

New features

Speed and flashy new looks are all very well, but what can iOS 13 actually do? Let’s look at the highlights from the new feature list.

Maps

We mentioned Google Maps earlier – good old Google Maps, how we love it – but Apple Maps has been hot on its rival’s heels for years, and gets another set of improvements in iOS 13.

Most interesting is a new feature called Look Around, which corresponds almost exactly to Street View in Google but appears – based on the following embedded tweet by a developer who’s tried it out – to be significantly smoother.

Made a quick side-by-side comparison video driving the same road in Hawaii with ‘Look Around’ in Apple Maps on #iOS13 vs Google Street View. It really is “smoothly move down the street”! Impressive ? #WWDC19 #iOS13Beta #AppleMaps #GoogleMaps #Apple #maps pic.twitter.com/nIA3kklhJe

— Reüel van der Steege (@rvdsteege) June 13, 2019

As in Street View it enables you to explore cities in 3D, looking around as if you were actually there, but it’s the near-seamlessness that appears most impressive. Coverage is less dazzling at this point, although that’s to be expected given that Apple has been collecting data for less time; Look Around is currently limited to certain cities in the US, with no European coverage at all, but this will improve.

Maps also gets a new more informative map overlay, although this too is initially limited to the US – other countries will follow in 2020.

Sign in with Apple

Here’s a potential opinion divider. With the launch of iOS 13, all third-party apps that feature a sign-in option will be obliged to also – or instead – offer ‘Sign in with Apple’. This will let you use your Apple account to sign in instead of an app-specific one, much as you can currently sign into a lot of apps and web services using a Twitter and/or Facebook login.

For iPhone users this should be convenient, since creating a separate account for every app is a pain, but it’s still useful to be able to log in so you can access preferences, high scores and so on from your other devices. Apple also has a hard-earned reputation for respecting and even fighting for user privacy, and assures us that it won’t track users; personally we’d feel happier handing over our data to Apple than to most app developers.

It’s probably a slightly less pleasing development if you’re an app developer, not least because it represents compulsory extra development work for all those whose apps include a login option. But more seriously, some developers rely on user data to generate revenue and will see this as a significant blow to their business model.

We hope this won’t cause too much of a headache for app developers, but on the whole Sign in with Apple strikes us as a positive step. Note, however, that even those on iOS 12 could be affected by it – if you update one of your apps once the developer has added Sign in with Apple, you should get it regardless of whether you’ve got iOS 13 or not.

Swipe typing

Since the iOS 8 update in 2014, Apple has allowed iOS users to install third-party keyboards, such as Swype – which enables you to swipe across the screen from letter to letter in a continuous motion.

Many of us dearly loved Swype, but it was sadly discontinued in 2018 – which made it particularly nice to hear that iOS 13 adds Swype-style typing to the system keyboard.

Indeed (despite the fact that the system keyboard remains somewhat buggy even in the GM version) this is probably our favourite new feature, and one that’s saved us a heap of time since we started running the beta. It’s great for one-handed typing.

Verdict

Our verdict will have to wait until we’ve tried the official public version, which goes live later today. But we love what we’ve seen and tried of iOS 13.

An additional speed boost is welcome (although we look forward to testing iOS 13 on more, and particularly older, devices to see how this shapes up in practice) and we’ve been loving swipe typing. It’s also great to see dark mode make its debut at long last, and the privacy benefits of Sign in with Apple are obvious. Our main concern right now is that the GM is still buggy, which could indicate problems with the public release.